On the home stretch!

I have about 6-12 inches in four spots to quilt. I will finish that today.

Depending on what time that happens the binding will get sewn on.

I prepped the binding earlier today using my high tech method.

If I don't get the binding sewn on today it will happen tomorrow.

I will be picking up Son so we can go visit my parents for a few days. I can hand sew the binding there. I am also taking a couple more projects to work on. I also told Son if he or GF have any mending to bring it along. 

I am hoping for sunny weather while at my parents. They live a few hours south of me and sometimes their weather is different, and sunnier, than the weather here.

We had a very light coating of snow this morning which has melted. It is cloudy and gloomy ... again.

Second verse same as the first

at least when it comes to the weather.

Cloudy, gloomy, cold...again.

I spent the day hand quilting.

It's not finished, but almost half way. There is a solitary butterfly on one end. I have quilted and taken out at least 3 different designs. Nothing seems quite right. The butterfly is left from the design previous to what I am doing now which is just straight lines in the ditch and along two lines in the border fabric. I am going to let my mom decide if she wants more butterflies. Or maybe none at all. I have a feeling she might want to keep this one as a memorial to my brother.

One of those days

It started out cloudy, gloomy, cold.

And has stayed that way all day.

I took one of my sewing machines in for service 2 weeks ago today. I emailed them yesterday to see what the status was. I didn't get a response so today I called. The machine service is done, but somehow the person repairing it broke the spool holder. That part has been ordered. They don't know when they will receive it but will let me know when it is ready to pick up. Could be a week. I get that things happen and this is pretty minor if something was going to get broken, but it would have been nice if they would  have notified me as to what happened and that there would be a delay in getting my machine back. They did offer to lend me a spool holder that sits next to the machine if I needed the machine back immediately. I don't and since I live over an hour away I told them I would wait. But, I am disappointed. I don't think they would have let me know if I hadn't called.

Then, I decided to load my mom's runner on the frame.

I have hand quilted the middle stars but wanted to do something in the border. I had ordered a nice design that I thought would work well. It's called Independence and came from Urban Elementz.

It's measures six inches tall. It's too big. Over an inch too big. Rats! Looks like my machine can only handle a design five inches tall or smaller. 

I was hoping to get this done in the next day or two since I plan to visit my parents next week and wanted to be able to give this to my mom. Back to hand quilting the border. But, I will be doing something simple. 

The computer has been slow, the TV cuts out during the last 5-10 minutes of a show, I keep dropping things, etc... I guess I am still tired from Retreat. Oh, well. Tomorrow is a new day.

Unpacking

Sometimes when I go to retreat it feels like I am moving in! Husband asked if I planned to come home. Ha

I have a nice bag on wheels that hold my machine and a few other things nicely. 

There are a few things that only get used at Sew Days or Retreat so they live in the bag in between outings. I have more than one machine so one stays in this bag most of the time. I also have a seat cushion, a bag containing the power cord and foot pedal, a pincushion and thread catcher, All Together bag, and mini iron case. There are pockets on each side of the bag. They hold small tissue packets, rolls of hard candy, extension cord, Best Press, hand lotion and ibuprofen.

Here is all of it laid out so I can see if I need to replace anything and start putting away the things that get used every day.

I recently got a new case for my mini iron. Husband saw an ad for this come up in the FaceBook feed and said I needed one. I wasn't sure, but at the last Sew Day when one of the ladies said how much she liked hers I ordered one for myself.

I was able to load up my iron while it was still pretty warm without damaging the case. They case is hard and zips closed. 

In the yellow bag on the right you can see  bonus triangles and scraps that I always come home with. Going to the left are my cutting mat, wool ironing mat, a piece of shelf liner that keeps both mats from sliding around, wooden clapper to help flatten seams, small notebook, 6 x 12 ruler, 4 1/2 x 4 1/2 ruler, pincushion with thread catcher, All Together bag loaded with small scissors, seam ripper, rotary cutter and extra blades, thread in white, natural, gray and black, extra bobbins, pencils, sticky notes, nail file, small screwdriver, extra machine needles and hand sewing needles and transparent tape. And, yes, I or one of my friends has needed every one of those items.  

In the green bag on the left is a large tote that held two of my projects - the flannel quilt and the Cow panel. Next is my sweatshirt in case I got cold. Sometimes the room we use cools off in the evening and on weekends. I didn't need it this weekend, didn't even put it on but you can see it has some threads on it. We all go home covered! Next is my Mondo bag holding Circle of Life in a pretty box and my insulated lunch tote which has snacks, a large thermos that gets filled with ice and a smaller thermos that gets filled with ice and a beverage. I also take a few beverages - usually water and bottled tea - that get stowed in the fridge there. Below that is a folding, wooden TV tray. One of the other ladies has one. She picked this one up for me at a garage sale this summer after I voiced an interest in having one. It folds up, is easy to haul around, is just the right height and handy to have next to my sewing area for pressing blocks as they are completed. I use the big iron that is set up for everyone to use to press seams as I sew rows together. 

It is now all put away. I will get caught up with household stuff and be ready to work on projects tomorrow.

Design Wall Monday

To see what other quilters are up to go to Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

My wall looks like this.

Thirty one blocks. I haven't worked on this for a few days because I have spent the last four days at Retreat.

Before I left I finished another 

365 Challenge block.

I like to twirl the centers whenever possible. It isn't always possible, but it sure helps with reducing bulk if can be done.

Retreat started on Thursday and went through Sunday. The weather was iffy a few days. We got rain/snow/rain/snow/freezing temps. The roads were slick a couple of days, but most of us ventured out anyway. What better way to spend cold, snowy winter days than with fabric and friends.

It's hard to see, but those bright specks are snowflakes.

The days seem to kind of run together for me and I can't remember exactly what days I worked on what projects but here is what I got done. I worked on the red and black flannel quilt that I had started at the last Sew Day.

I got the top put together. 

It is really soft!

I worked on an Exchange block that I didn't get a photo of. One of the members decided that she was just not able to do the exchange this time and dropped out. We all decided to go ahead and make our blocks for her anyway. The bag stays in the room where we meet for Sew Days and Retreats. People have been working on it as they have time. Her blocks will be done soon! She doesn't know we are doing this so I think it will be a nice surprise for her.

I also started on the Cow Panel. I wanted to add some length to this. I started making 9-Patch Star blocks, six for the top, six for the bottom.

 

Then I laid it out with different fabrics to see what I could do for more length and borders. It took me a while to come up with a plan I was happy with. I also realized I didn't have enough of the red barn wood. I decided to make 12 more 9-Patch Stars. One row of six each for the top and bottom with a strip of black to separate them with a strip of black between them. 

I ran out of the black, but knew I had more at home so that project got put away. I have sent a message to the shop the barn wood fabric came from to see if they will mail me a couple more yards. I plan to put a border of the red all the way around. That will make it a nice throw size. 

*How many of you eagle eyes can see what I did?

Next project was Circle of Life. 

I already had the center done.

I was able to complete six of the large New York Beauty units. 

Two more to make.

All that's left to do now is unpack.

Today was

a bit emotional. It is my late brother's birthday. He would have been 58. He didn't get to enjoy much of being 55. He is so missed.

My mother had asked me to gather information on the local Independent Living/Assisted Living facility. It is part of the facility where my FIL is now and where my MIL spent the last 3 years of her life. It is a great facility. I met with the person who gives the tours and answers questions. I like the facility and I like that a person(s) can start out in the independent living unit. As needs arise assistance can be added. If necessary they can move to the skilled nursing unit or the dementia unit. 

My dad has dementia and I know in time my mom will need assistance in caring for him. I am glad she is planning ahead. I am also glad she is thinking of them moving where I am. They are over 3 hours away now. They don't travel much anymore and then try to only be away from home for a couple of hours as Dad gets restless and just wants to be home. It will be nice to have them closer. But, it sure is hard to think of them being in the position to have to think about moving out of their home and needing assistance.

On a more cheerful note, after I got home from the tour I played with fabric.

I cut 10 blocks for the 365 Challenge. 

I finished one block and started another.

Then I realized I had made a mistake and had to take out some stitching. 

I am back on track with that but decided to call it a night.

My Day

started with this...

...a lovely sunrise with the moon still visible in the sky. A pretty start to the day.

Yesterday I was getting low on the pages in my planner so I decided to print more. I put a page on the plate, selected the number of pages to print and proceeded to do something else while I waited for the pages to print. Part way through the printer stopped and this message came up.

You can see in the photo that my colors are not right. The magenta square is magenta on the printer screen, but shows orangish/yellow in the photo.

I was sure I had another package of ink, but I did not. Then I realized that I had not changed the enlarge setting back to 100% from 155% from the last print job I did.

Rats. And, now I can't change the enlarge setting until I replace the ink. And, what about these too large pages? I suppose I can cut them down and still use them. I hate to waste the paper and the ink.

Speaking of my daily planner, I am having trouble getting into the habit of actually using it daily. I was doing pretty well, then some things happened that weren't part of the plan and that threw me off a little. I am working on getting back on track. 

Yesterday I also cut more fabric for SBC2020 blocks. I also started cutting fabric for more 365 Challenge blocks.

I want to cut five more blocks before I start sewing them. I like to have them ready for when I just have a few minutes to work on them.

Before that I tested some ink pads and stamps that I received recently.

The red I had been using seemed more pinkish than red to me so I ordered Rhubarb Stalk. It is not pink, but more of a darker red. The photo doesn't show how dark it is, but I like it. The black - Tuxedo Black - is a nice dark black. I saw it recommended on several stamping blogs that I was checking out. The larger MERRY CHRISTMAS is with stamped with the new Rhubarb Stalk. The peace on earth under it is the 'red' that I already had. The small Merry Christmas is stamped with Tuxedo Black.

I also activated, set up voicemail and added contacts to Husband's new phone. I finally got him convinced that he needs a cell phone. We went with Consumer Cellular. They have been great helping us through some issues.

Our landline is terrible, lots of static, and we are unable to get the carrier to fix it. I call the service number, listen to the robotic message, push the correct buttons, make an appointment for service - usually 10-15 days from the date of the call, get text messages for several days before asking if we need to keep the appointment or has the problem been resolved (really?! they expect the problem to resolve itself?) to which I reply KEEP, more text messages stating repair tech in on the way and we will receive a text when fixed. We never receive a text stating the problem is fixed, probably because it never is. Oh, the static is better for a few days. It never completely goes away although it does get better, then worse, then better. I am convinced they do not want to deal with landlines. They only want to deal with cable, cell and internet. 

Anyway, Husband has decided it is pretty nice to have a cell phone so he can call the farm equipment repair people right from the tool shed. Sometimes they are able to tell him how to fix something over the phone, or they can figure out what parts they need before they come out. He had been using a cell phone for a little bit when he started having issues with it. CC walked us through some things to try to resolve the issue. When that didn't help they sent him a new phone. It began having the same issues, only not as frequently. Then Husband somehow cracked the outer display screen. The phone still works but incoming calls are not displayed on the cracked screen. I ordered a new phone, different model. Hopefully, this one will work better.

Design Wall Monday

To see what other quilters are up to visit Small Quilts and Doll Quilts.

I haven't posted for a few day, but that's because I have been a little busy.

On Wednesday I did some household tasks and got projects ready for Sew Day. 

I also finished quilting this quilt. Then it was on to the binding. While it looked good on the front the back was a different story.

Took that out and tried again. Ugh. 

Finally, on the third try it looked good.

Corners look good. 

All done.

I delivered it Thursday morning. 

She loved it! 

I am not sure I will ever do a satin binding again. I did not enjoy it one bit.

I made more blocks with the Stash Busters Challenge 2020 pattern offered by Border Creek Station.

I cut fabric for more.

I am pulling from stash. Even the white was in my stash. I like to keep several yards on hand for any project I may need it for. I may change the layout as I get more blocks finished.

I had to look through my stash one evening to find a fabric for a piece I cut too small. I told Husband that it is good to have a decent stash at home so I don't have to go to the store. He responded that I should always buy more than I think I will need, too. What a great guy! He understands my passion.

This is out my front door that day. 

Cold, wet and dreary again.

At Sew Day on Thursday I got the blocks made using the red and black 5 yard bundle. This flannel is so soft.

I got 6 blocks sewn into a row. I need to add two more blocks to this row and then make four more rows. 

I will work on this more at Retreat which starts on Thursday.

Friday I helped my neighbors. They own a local diner. Their waitress needed the day off so I filled in for her. I worked fast food when I was younger. Much younger! But, I have never waitressed. I took orders, filled drinks, took orders to tables, ran the register and cleaned tables. It was only for a few hours and I only needed help a few times. Some of the regulars were confused to see me and not the regular waitress, but I think it went well.

Saturday I went on a little shopping trip with my quilt friends. We weren't sure we would be able to go since during the night we got a little snow, then freezing rain. But it warmed up enough that the roads were not slick and improved as the day went on. 

I only got a few things. I had the bundle shown on top in this photo. I found the paisley print for a really good price. I couldn't pass it up. I love paisley. It might make a good border with these fabrics.

I recently got this panel of a cow print. 

Son's GF loves cows.

I found a barn wood type print in both red and gray and the plaid in those colors. The gray barn wood piece looks blue in this photo, but it really is more gray.

I am trying to decide what to do to make this into a throw size quilt for her. Here are some ideas I am pondering.

   

 

Her birthday is coming up soon so I need to get busy if I want to finish it in time. A four day retreat starts Thursday so I should be able to get the top pieced. 

My photo for Saturday shows cold, wet dreary...again. It's hard to see but it was trying to snow. By late afternoon the temperature was dropping and the wind picked up.

Today was a lazy day. I didn't do much, but I did get some more SBC2020 blocks made. I now have 23. I will cut more fabric today.

I haven't decided on a layout yet. 

I am just putting them up on the design wall as I finish them.

The weather was very cold and very windy with flurries.

I am thankful for the pop of cheerful color from the geranium blooms. 

This morning's photo...

Looks like we had got a bit of snow during the night. The temperature rose a little also and the wind isn't as strong. Wind chills in the minus numbers make it hard on animals and farmers. Thankful we don't have lots of snow and ice.